I had been sleeping peacefully in my bed in our hotel located in London, England when I felt the sudden hands cover my face. I felt myself jump up straight in my bed and try to scream, but someone was clamping my mouth shut. I glanced up and found myself staring into the eyes of Jennifer. I rolled my eyes and lay back down for some more sleep.
We had just finished our concert in London and it had been a huge blast. The crowd was hyped up and ready for some fun, while my brothers and I were more than ready to get out and sing. Zac also made sure that the audience also got their share of water from his super soaker.
The only bad thing was that I was now as exhausted as ever and all I needed was some silly rest. That's when my girlfriend had woken me up in the middle of the night.
"Taylor," I heard her whisper into my ear with a discouraged tone.
"Hmm?" I mumbled with my eyes closed shut, trying to block her out and fall back asleep.
"Get up!" she begged along with a quick shove. I groaned.
"Jennifer, go away. I'm too tired and it's too late. Let me sleep!"
"What about our date? You promised me, remember?"
"Huh?" I turned back to face her as I squinted up at her in the light of only a nearby nightlight. I seriously had no idea what she was talking about.
"Swimming, remember?" she furrowed her brow and put on a sad face. I smiled and began to search my mind frantically for what she was begging me about. Then it hit me.
"Oh, Jen, I'm sorry. I was going to set my alarm, but I guess I forgot," I mumbled sheepishly and dragged myself out of the comfy bed.
Earlier on in the day, I had asked Jen if she might have wanted to go for a late night swim in the hotel pool. No one could spot us since it was so late and we would have the water all to ourselves. She agreed, and now I had fallen asleep, ignoring my memories of asking her on the date in the first place.
I noticed now that she was only dressed in a long, baggy tee with a bathing suit underneath, perhaps. The shirt text read "Girl Power" which automatically reminded me of the Spice Girls.
Jennifer smiled after whispering something to me and left the room. I slowly got up and peered around just to see if anyone else was awake. There, Isaac and Zac slept silently in their beds as if nothing had just happened. After digging around in my travel bag for about five minutes I successfully retrieved my swimming trunks and and slipped them on underneath my shirt.
* * *
Jennifer and I softly walked our feet down a few flights of steps until we reached the glass door blocking us from getting out to the outdoor pool. I had woken up considerably after Jen had stirred me in my sleep and gotten me to change. After some hot chocolate that Jen had made from the packets supplyed by the hotel, I found myself as awake as she was. Then we grabbed our towels and made our way down the hall to the staircase.
I leaned up against the pool door as it swung open and revealed the dark night, along with the sounds of many crickets chirping in all directions. Not another soul could be seen or heard and we realized that we were alone. Only a few ligghts were still left on in the city as it looked like a cluster of yellow stars, burning closer than the ones above us.
I stared up at the sky and felt myself become embraced by the large view of the stary night that swallowed me up in beauty and Jennifer gasped and pointed when a shooting star suddenly shot by and disappeared out of sight.
"Make a wish," I whispered and gently leaned on the girl standing next to me.
"I just did," Jennifer whispered back and softly kissed my cheek.
I turned to face her as she stared into me, the crickets making noise, the silence besides a simple car whizzing by every minute. It was Heaven on Earth.
"What did you wish for?" I asked her curiously.
She laughed. "If I told you, it wouldn't come true!"
"Okay, okay. You're right," I calmly stated and embraced her in a hug before taking a glance towards the nearby pool.
The water was calm with not a single ripple to be seen upon it. There was an almost silent sound of the water barely moving against the side walls from being blown by the wind. Jennifer followed my gaze and smiled at the reflection of the moon that could be seen in it.
"Well, are we going to swim or stand here all night?" she asked, finally pulling away from me and looking around.
"Come on, get in," I answered and quickly claimed a striped lounge chair and threw down my purple towel.
My shirt was deposited on the space next to it in a second and I turned to see Jennifer dipping her feet into the water and shivering slightly.
"It's not that cold," she assured me and covered her whole foot in the clear liquid.
I stared, mouth open, at how good Jen looked wearing only a bathing suit. It was a two piece, red with yellow strips lining the outer ends of the material. The bottom half looked similar to a pair of shorts, rather than the usual thin bikini bottoms that most girls wore. Even so, I found myself wishing that Jennifer could wear the suit everyday instead of just for swimming.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's rude to stare!" she stubbornly placed her hands on her hips and gave me a stern look that caught my attention and allowed me to break from my trance and focus back on getting in the pool.
I managed to stick out a single toe to sample the glowing water before I swiftly pulled it in again after realizing that the temperature was definetely cooler than the night air which was already cool enough.
"Okay, so how am I supposed to get in when it's this cold?" I asked no one in particular, with Jennifer within hearing range.
"Um, just jump, I guess," she shrugged while slowly placing more of her leg into the water.
I repeated what I'd tried before and placed my foot in more, but pulled away again. "I guess I'm just not used to this cold water," I admited.
Jen sighed. "I'll tell you what. On the count of 3, we'll both jump in at the same time, got it?"
I shrugged. "I guess. I mean, I'm not staying out the entire night while you have all the fun."
She smiled and began counting. "Alrighty, 1... 2... 2 and 1/2... 2 and 3/4..."
"Jennifer, just get to the point already!"
"THREE!!!"
She had already jumped into the air when I realized that I hadn't been ready to get in just yet. Even so, a second later I felt myself flying through the air towards the usual blue color of the pool. My throat escaped a small, "No! Help me! No!" before I hit the freezing water with a splash!
There were bubbles everywhere and the muffled sounds of kicking underwater as my eyes strained in the blur for a familiar figure. Suddenly in front of me, Jen appeared, swimming towards me with ease, her hair floating out in all directions.
We studied each other for a few seconds and she opened her mouth as if to laugh, but the sound was replaced by a few bubbles, traveling up to the surface of the pool. The lights from around the area shown in and helped with the view as I felt my body grow used to the surroundings underwater that I had jumped into.
Blue. The word hit me like a hot knife through butter. I was surrounded in blue, enveloping the two of us into a totally alien world. I kicked once before turning upwards and heading for the surface.
When my lungs could finally breath oxygen again, I smoothed back my hair with my hands and proceeded to doggy paddle over to Jennifer and dunk her underneath the crystal blue water once again. With only a muffled, "Umph," she was under and I laughed in triumph before letting her come back up for air. She glared at me. I put on an innocent look.
"Taylor Hanson, you are a very dead little boy," she informed me and made a jump towards me.
I ducked out of the way and she only hit the pool, causing a spray of water in my direction. I made an atempt to splash her by pounding my hands into the water and sending a wave all over Jen.
She laughed and wiped her eyes. "Taylor, I'll get you for that."
"You've got to catch me first," I cried and furiously kicked in order to swim to the other side of the pool and out of her reach.
Jennifer chased right after me and I soon discovered that she was a much faster swimmer than I thought when I felt a tug at my foot in order to stop me. The two of us continued to chase each other around the pool and throw water in every direction in the process.
I climbed back onto the pavement and did a cannonball almost on top of Jen as she screamed and moved quickly to the side. We laughed together when I came up beside her and I held her close for a moment in the coolness of the blue liquid.
"Jennifer," I whispered softly into her ear. "Have I ever told you that I love you?"
"No, I don't think so. You might have once, but I guess I just don't remember," she said slyly.
"Then I guess I didn't make it clear."
She looked up into my eyes. Yes, Jennifer had already once informed me of her feelings, but I certainly hadn't felt the time was right before. The moment seemed like it could last forever. I held her against me in the pool as we stood silently. It reminded me of a scene from a movie where the background music suddenly became loud and dramatic. It was a usual tear jerker for most people.
"I love you," I said softly. "I'll always love you, Jen. I've never told that to a girl before. You're really something special... and I don't want to lose you."
I felt Jennifer smile. "I love you too."
I leaned down to kiss her and she welcomed my kisses. It was long and enjoyable, much more passionate than ever before. Suddenly, I could hear the music playing in the background... it was my own scene in my own movie and I was the director.